The invention relates to a device for operating one or more optical display devices of a vehicle and a display system for the vehicle.
Today's motor vehicles have various control units which are designed to carry out various vehicle functions. For example, functions relating to driver information are carried out by a combi instrument. Navigation functions are carried out by a different control unit, for example in a head unit. Displays relating to navigation and to driver information are predominantly effected by means of different optical display devices which are directly associated with the control units. For example, the driver information is displayed by means of a combi instrument panel and the navigation information by means of a central vehicle display.
The object on which the invention is based is to create a device for operating at least one optical display device and a display system for a vehicle which enables an efficient and reliable optical signaling of information in the vehicle.
The object is achieved by the characteristics of the independent claims. Advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the dependent claims.
According to a first aspect, the invention is characterized by a device for operating one or more optical display devices of a vehicle. The device is designed to determine a three-dimensional model for a predefined environment of the vehicle depending on data sets provided and depending on a predefined latency time, wherein the data sets represent predefined vehicle information and/or driving information which is suitable for being signaled graphically and/or pictorially to a vehicle user. Furthermore, the device is designed to determine pixel values for at least one portion of pixels of a digital image and/or of a graphical element depending on the three-dimensional model and to determine a signaling signal for signaling the pixel values of the pixels by means of the respective optical display device, wherein the predefined latency time represents at least one portion of a provision time duration comprising a temporal duration from a beginning of an acquisition of the vehicle information and/or driving information until the signaling of the signaling signal by means of the respective optical display device.
Advantageously, this enables contact-analogous displays, in particular in a head-up display, to be generated with high reliability and in real time. Because the image generation, in particular the image synthesis, can be carried out centrally in the device, delay times and provision latency times can easily be taken into account. Here, the delay times can represent a time duration until the determined image data reach the display sinks. Here, the provision latency times can in each case represent a time duration which is in each case necessary for a provision of various data from different units which are used for generating the respective image. For example, it may be necessary to use data from a driver assistance system and/or from a device external to the vehicle and/or data from a navigation device in order to generate a suitable image. The central image generation enables complex, three-dimensional representations to be displayed coherently and with high quality in the one or more optical display devices, in particular in the head-up display and/or in a combi instrument.
In an advantageous embodiment of the first aspect, the device can be coupled by means of signals to a predefined vehicle communications network and designed to receive the data sets via the vehicle communications network. This has the advantage that the device can be designed as a self-contained unit which, in particular, can be used for operating a head-up display.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the first aspect, the data sets have a predefined metadata structure which is suitable for characterizing the vehicle information and/or driving information in text form. This has the advantage that information, in particular the driving information and/or vehicle information, for which a signaling signal that graphically and/or pictorially characterizes the information is normally generated and provided, can be implemented in the data sets with the metadata structure. The data sets can be transmitted efficiently and then used in the device for generating an image. A transmission bandwidth can be reduced in comparison with a transmission of the driving information and/or vehicle information in the form of character commands. This can contribute to the driving information and/or vehicle information being displayed with high quality in spite of a limited transmission bandwidth. Further, the metadata structure of the data sets enables the three-dimensional model to be determined more easily and/or more reliably and/or more precisely. The metadata structure of the data sets can contribute to logical links being able to be described more precisely.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the first aspect, the device is designed to determine the three-dimensional model and/or the pixel values and/or the signaling signal depending on a particular design of the optical display device. Advantageously, this enables complex three-dimensional representations to be displayed reliably and with high quality by means of the respective optical display device.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the first aspect, the device is designed to determine the three-dimensional model and/or the pixel values and/or the signaling signal for the one optical display device or for a further optical display device depending on a current display situation of one of the optical display devices. This has the advantage that, if the current display situation of the one optical display device does not permit the required display, the determined information can be signaled in a suitable manner by means of the further optical display device. Such a case can occur, for example, when a contact-analogous representation of defined information is not permitted in the head-up display due to too great a number of display elements in a display field of the head-up display. In this case, the defined information can be signaled by the further optical display device.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the first aspect, the respective driving information and/or vehicle information is assigned a predefined priority and the device is designed to determine the three-dimensional model and/or the pixel values and/or the signaling signal for the one optical display device or for the further optical display device depending on the priority. Advantageously, this enables a display prioritization of the respective driving information and/or vehicle information, on the one hand within the one optical display device and/or within the one further optical display device and, on the other hand, also between the one and the one further optical display device.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the first aspect, the priority of the respective driving information and/or vehicle information is determined depending on a currently determined traffic situation and/or driving situation of the vehicle. Advantageously, this enables the display prioritization to be adapted dynamically to the current traffic situation and/or driving situation.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the first aspect, the optical display device comprises a head-up display having a predefined display field. The device is designed to determine the pixel values of the graphical element and to display them on the predefined display field of the head-up display depending on the three-dimensional model in such a way that the graphical element is perceived by an observer of the display field from a predefined viewing position with direct reference to the real environment of the vehicle. Embedding and/or superimposing the graphical element as virtual information in a real environment perceived by a vehicle user enables a predictive character of the information, in particular of the driving information and/or vehicle information, to be perceived easily, reliably and in an easily understandable manner by the vehicle user.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the first aspect, the device is designed to determine the pixel values for the at least one portion of the pixels of the digital image depending on further pixel values of a predefined environmental image. Advantageously, this enables the digital image to be superimposed upon the environmental image, for example for indication on an LC display.
According to a second aspect, the invention is characterized by a display system for a vehicle. The display system includes a first control unit which is designed to provide predefined data sets. Further, the display system includes a device for operating one or more display devices according to the first aspect, and a vehicle communications network which couples the first control unit and the device by means of signals for transmitting the data sets from the first control unit to the device. Furthermore, the display system has one or more optical display devices which are each coupled to the device by means of signals and are each designed to receive and signal a signaling signal determined by the device in each case.
Complementary advantageous embodiments of the first aspect also apply to the second aspect.
Advantageously, the image can be generated in a single processing unit in the vehicle, preferably in the device. It is not necessary for images to be generated in different places, that is to say in different processing units of the vehicle, for example in a head unit and in a combi instrument, which images are then brought together in one of the two processing units. It is sufficient for the data necessary for synthesizing the image, also referred to as rendering, to be made available to only the one processing unit, preferably the device. Image generation by the device simplifies consistent image generation. Particularly in the case of a complex three-dimensional representation, it is possible to determine coherent and high-quality display content. In the case of a display with high real-time requirements, in particular for a contact-analogous representation with the head-up display, the performance demands on the device which synthesizes the image are very high. Generating the image in the device for the contact-analogous head-up display relieves the load on further arithmetic units, for example the processor in the navigation unit, and enables a driving-situation-dependent display prioritization of all content in the head-up display in real time. A contact-analogous display, in particular in a head-up display, can be generated with high reliability and in real time. Because the image generation, in particular the image synthesis, can be carried out centrally in the device, delay times and provision latency times can easily be taken into account.
The driving information and/or vehicle information can be provided by further units of the vehicle, for example by the driver assistance system and/or the navigation device, and/or devices external to the vehicle and transmitted to the first control unit. The first control unit can be designed to determine the data sets depending on the predefined driving information and/or vehicle information, wherein the data sets can have a predefined metadata structure which is suitable for characterizing the driving information and/or vehicle information in text form.
In an advantageous embodiment of the second aspect, the one or more optical display devices is/are coupled by means of signals to the device via a predefined multimedia interface. This enables the determined signaling signal to be transmitted efficiently and reliably.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained below by means of the schematic drawings.
In the drawings:
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Elements with the same design or function are provided with the same references in all the figures.